World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 855

If it is said that, on account of Samskāras (impressions) every jiva is not freed immediately after destruction of the body and becomes object of transmigration then the question is whether these Saṁskāras of individual Jiva are specio-temporal or all-pervading like ether. If they are limited by space and time then the man died at particular place, to say at Citrakūta must born in the same place, because Saṁskāras cannot travel from one place to another being inactive and unconscious (because product of unconscious avidyā), Samskāras cannot also be allpervading because in that case, no place and no soul, even liberated, will be free from clutches of all pervading Saṁskāras and these Saṁskāras might bring liberated man back to this mundane world. So, it is not possible to prove the oneness of souls and it is more wise and practical to accept the view of plurality of selves.65
To sum up, Jainas point out that Advaitin's arguments that reality is one without a second, on account of Māyā this world appears as many (vivarta) and this apparent world disappears after destruction of Māyā and realisation of Brahman, and Sravana, Manana and Nididhyāsana are the means of liberation, are meaningless like discription of the barren woman's son, because the existence of nondual Brahman or Ātman cannot be proved by any available means of knowledge.
Now, all these objections raised by Jainas are generally found in the writings of Rāmānuja" and Madhva.68 Possible answers are found in the works of stalwarts of Advaita Vedānta such as Sankara69 and his followsers which certainly deserve separate treatment. It is also very important to note that, though Jainas criticise the some of the doctrines of Advaita, still some Advaitic trends are steeped into Jainism.?And there was trend to reconcile Jainism with Advaita and other systems of Indian Philosophy. For instance, Yaśovijaya?1 a 17th century Jaina stalwart proclaims that Jainism has no quarrel with any other system of Indian thought.
(ABBREVIATIONS used in Notes) A.S. -- Astasāhasri A.M. — Āptamīmāmsā N.K. - Nyāyakumudacandra P.N.T. - Pramānanayatattvālokālankāra
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